Quilt Market Giveaway #2

Whenever I attend a major quilt show, I’m anxious to see the quilts by Japanese quiltmakers.

Eternal Garden by Yoko Sugisawa of Tokyo, Japan won the The Robert S. Cohan Master Award for Traditional Artistry, sponsored by RJR Fabrics in the 2010 Quilts: A World of Beauty contest. This is the annual fall judged show of the International Quilt Association.

I especially love the pieces made with Japanese “taupes” (see the quilts above and below).

First Place in the Handmade Category, Sponsored by The Colonial Needle Company, was Tenderly Embraced by Mieko Kotaki of Sendai, Miyagi, Japan.

Irvine uses taupe fabrics in simple, elegant, “modern” quilt designs for eight fun little projects and three quilts. The projects include a pillow cover, handbag, notebook cover, block bag, rotary cutter case, pincushions and a needlecase. This is a great place to begin with your first taupes, or if you already have a stash, to get them out and use them.

Graceful Rhapsody by Denise Sheehan is what you might call “taupe with a twist.” Sheehan adds beautiful blues to neutral fabrics to create this quilted paisley block of the month. In addition to the complete quilt pattern, Graceful Rhapsody includes a couple of bonus projects, one with hand-embroidered bluework.

My to-do list includes several projects from Be Merry by Martha Walker. (By the way, Martha has a great block design in the upcoming 100 Blocks Volume 4 called Garden.)

“Celebrate Christmas” features blocks like this one and an appliqued swag border. I love the fun of combining candy canes with a very traditional applique design. This quilt is in my future.

And aren’t the bird clips fun? They look so old-fashioned. I’d love to have these on my Christmas tree. In total there are patterns for seven quilts, six projects like a hooked rug, a penny rug and a punch needle, plus four projects to adorn your tree.

We’ll give away these three titles from Kansas City Star Books. Leave a comment by midnight Tuesday, Nov. 1 telling us of a holiday project you’ve completed any time in the past. We’ll announce winners next week.

About Diane Harris

I'm an editor for Quiltmaker magazine in Golden, Colorado, USA. For six years, I wrote pattern instructions, product reviews and how-to articles. Then I spent four years as QM's Interactive Editor, working to generate much of our online content. Now I'm back to patterns and how-tos, which is a great fit for me. I still love writing about quilt-related topics for Quilty Pleasures, and I always have my finger on the pulse of the quilting world. I teach a variety of quilt classes and give guild programs, too. Reach me by email: editor@quiltmaker.com.

I just took an awesome class from a very special instructor at our local quilt shop. We were taught the Dresden Plate using the Perfect Patchwork Templates from Marti Michell. I made two of the mini Dresden Plates using all red fabrics from my stash and have decided to make little holiday coasters for the dining room table out of them, so I will need to make several more…but they are such fun and look very much like a cheerful little poinsetta with the yellow center. I want to make a skinny little table runner using these cute little mini red plates. The Christmas table should be delightful this year.

I think my finest Christmas present was almost 20 years ago when I made my mother-in-law a tree skirt from log cabin blocks in the shape of diamonds. (I had just learned to do foundation log cabin and the pattern not only was in diamonds, but included a pleat between each log.!) I don’t remember how many weeks I worked on it, but I spent many a late night working diligently on it so I could mail it to Texas in time for the tree to be put up! It was a great hit and since MIL loved it, I was happy!